Apparatus and method for supporting parking

ABSTRACT

A parking assistance apparatus includes at least one camera sensor installed in a vehicle, a control unit configured to analyze an image obtained through the camera sensor to recognize a space and object in a parking lot by matching a detailed parking lot map to an object, search for an available parking space by calculating a parking region on the basis of recognized space and object information, and generate a path to the available parking space searched for, or perform autonomous parking until reaching the available parking space, and a storage unit configured to store the detailed parking lot map for recognizing the space and object.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2019-0048848, filed on Apr. 26, 2019, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes as if set forth herein.

BACKGROUND Field

Exemplary embodiments relate to a parking assistance apparatus andmethod and, more particularly, to a parking assistance apparatus andmethod for automatically searching for an available non-regular parkingspace when a regular parking space is not available in a parking lot toassist with parking in the non-regular parking space.

Discussion of the Background

Recently, with the development of the automobile industry, the number ofvehicles has increased and automobile technology has been developed. Inparticular, by virtue of the development of automobile technology,researches are being actively carried out to develop intelligentvehicles. In particular, technology related to driver assist systems(DASs) has been significantly developed and is applied to intelligentvehicles.

Researches are being actively carried out to particularly develop aparking assistance system which is one of DASs, and such parkingassistance systems are currently actually applied and used.

The above systems for assisting with parking a vehicle involvetechnology for recognizing a parking space, generating a parkingtrajectory (path), and controlling steering.

Furthermore, according to the technology for recognizing a parkingspace, it can recognize parking space and perpendicular parking space,and a plurality of sensors such as ultrasonic sensors, cameras, radar,or lidar are used to recognize a parking space. That is, a parking spaceis recognized based on information detected through a plurality ofsensors.

Therefore, a parking space can be more accurately recognized with moreamount of sensing information. However, the more amount of sensinginformation, the more complicated an algorithm for combining the sensinginformation becomes, and loads on a parking assistance system increase,thus increasing the manufacturing cost of a vehicle. Furthermore, onefailure in a certain sensor to be combined, deteriorates the accuracy ofa parking space recognition algorithm.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop technology for parking assistanceusing a single sensor (e.g., a camera sensor) that is the most basicsensor for assisting parking a vehicle.

The background art of the present invention is disclosed in KoreanPatent Application Laid-open Publication No. 10-2009-0000211 (publishedon Jan. 7, 2009, entitled “PARKING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD”), whichis incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and,therefore, it may contain information that does not constitute priorart.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a parkingassistance apparatus and method for automatically searching for anavailable non-regular parking space when a regular parking space is notavailable in a parking lot to assist parking in the non-regular parkingspace.

A first exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a parkingassistance apparatus including at least one camera sensor installed in avehicle, a control unit configured to analyze an image obtained throughthe camera sensor to recognize a space and object in a parking lot bymatching a detailed parking lot map to an object, search for anavailable parking space by calculating a parking region on the basis ofrecognized space and object information, and generate a path to theavailable parking space searched for, or perform autonomous parkinguntil reaching the available parking space, and a storage unitconfigured to store the detailed parking lot map for recognizing thespace and object.

The camera sensor may be installed at least one of a front part, twoside parts, rear part, and upper part of the vehicle.

The detailed parking lot map may include at least one of specific shapeand size information about a fixed object installed in the parking lot,information about a location or bearing in which the fixed object isinstalled in the parking lot, a floor area of the parking lot, alocation and area of a regular parking space, and information about aroad length and area in the parking lot.

The control unit may detect an orientation of the vehicle and a currentlocation of the vehicle in the parking lot on the basis of fixed objectinformation detected through the camera sensor.

The control unit may calculate or estimate a distance from the vehicleto a mobile object and a size of the mobile object on the basis of sizeinformation and distance information about a fixed object near themobile object from a current location of the vehicle.

The control unit may calculate a shape and area of a parking space byreferring to the detailed parking lot map to calculate the availableparking space, wherein the control unit may reflect not only an edge ofanother vehicle parked at one side of a parking space but also a tirealignment state and a folded/unfolded state of a side-view mirror.

When searching for the available parking space, the control unit maysearch for a regular parking space that is a parking space with parkinglines, and, when there is no available regular parking space, may searchfor a non-regular parking space that is a space without parking linesand large enough to park the vehicle.

The control unit may be capable of communicating with an informationproviding device in the parking lot to search for the regular parkingspace and the non-regular parking space, and may search for theavailable parking space that is an empty parking space by moving thevehicle on the basis of statistical information about a vehiclenon-concentration region.

The control unit may output an alarm after checking a neutral gear stagewhen parking the vehicle in the non-regular parking space, and mayoutput the alarm after checking whether the vehicle is parked at anangle at which the vehicle does not collide with another vehicle orobject present in a forward direction of movement of the vehicle whenthe vehicle parked in the non-regular parking space is pushed and movedso as to prevent the vehicle from colliding with the other vehicle orobject.

The control unit may generate and output a parking path to the availableparking space when simply assisting a driver in parking the vehicle, andmay control operation of a steering device and acceleration/decelerationdevice when performing autonomous parking.

According to one or more exemplary implementation of the invention, amethod for parking assistance includes steps of, analyzing, by a controlunit, an image captured through at least one camera sensor installed ina vehicle to recognize a space and object in a parking lot, searchingfor, by the control unit, a regular parking space by analyzing theimage, searching for, by the control unit, a non-regular parking spacenear the vehicle when the regular parking space is not discovered as aresult of the searching for the regular parking space, determining, bythe control unit, whether the vehicle is able to be parked by accuratelycalculating an available parking space in the non-regular parking spaceby reflecting a shape and size of the vehicle when the non-regularparking space is discovered, and generating and outputting, by thecontrol unit, a parking path to the available parking space to assist adriver in parking the vehicle or controlling operation of a steeringdevice and acceleration/deceleration device to perform autonomousparking when the vehicle is able to be parked in the non-regular parkingspace.

The method may further include generating and displaying, by the controlunit, the parking path to the regular parking space or performing aparking control until reaching the regular parking space throughautonomous driving when the regular parking space is discovered.

The method may further include inducing, by the control unit, the driverto move the vehicle to a vehicle non-concentration region or performinga movement control until reaching the vehicle non-concentration regionthrough autonomous driving when the regular parking space is notdiscovered.

The method may further include checking, by the control unit, whetherthe vehicle obstructs a path of another vehicle when the vehicle isparked in the non-regular parking space and re-searching for thenon-regular parking space if the vehicle obstructs the path of the othervehicle, when the non-regular parking space is determined to beavailable for parking.

The detailed parking lot map may include at least one of specific shapeand size information about a fixed object installed in the parking lot,information about a location or bearing in which the fixed object isinstalled in the parking lot, a floor area of the parking lot, alocation and area of a regular parking space, and information about aroad length and area in the parking lot.

The control unit may detect an orientation of the vehicle and a currentlocation of the vehicle in the parking lot on the basis of fixed objectinformation detected through the camera sensor to recognize the spaceand object in the parking lot.

The control unit may calculate a shape and area of a parking space byreferring to a detailed parking lot map to calculate the availableparking space, wherein the control unit may reflect not only an edge ofanother vehicle parked at one side of a parking space but also a tirealignment state and a folded/unfolded state of a side-view mirror.

The control unit may be capable of communicating with an informationproviding device in the parking lot to search for the regular parkingspace or the non-regular parking space, and may search for the availableparking space that is an empty parking space by moving the vehicle onthe basis of statistical information about a vehicle non-concentrationregion.

The control unit may output an alarm after checking a neutral gear stagewhen parking the vehicle in the non-regular parking space, and mayoutput the alarm after checking whether the vehicle is parked at anangle at which the vehicle does not collide with another vehicle orobject present in a forward direction of movement of the vehicle whenthe vehicle parked in the non-regular parking space is pushed and movedso as to prevent the vehicle from colliding with the other vehicle orobject.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a parkingassistance apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a parking assistance method accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an additional parking assistanceoperation when parking a vehicle in a non-regular parking space asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown.This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms andshould not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure isthorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote likeelements.

Various advantages and features of the present invention and methodsaccomplishing thereof will become apparent from the followingdescription of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.However, the present invention is not to be limited to the embodimentsset forth herein but may be implemented in many different forms. Thepresent embodiments may be provided so that the disclosure of thepresent invention will be complete, and will fully convey the scope ofthe invention to those skilled in the art and therefore the presentinvention will be defined within the scope of claims. In the drawings,the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated forclarity. Like reference numerals throughout the description denote likeelements.

Unless defined otherwise, it is to be understood that all the terms(including technical and scientific terms) used in the specification hasthe same meaning as those that are understood by those who skilled inthe art. Further, the terms defined by the dictionary generally usedshould not be ideally or excessively formally defined unless clearlydefined specifically. It will be understood that for purposes of thisdisclosure, “at least one of X, Y, and Z” can be construed as X only, Yonly, Z only, or any combination of two or more items X, Y, and Z (e.g.,XYZ, XYY, YZ, ZZ). Unless particularly described to the contrary, theterm “comprise”, “configure”, “have”, or the like, which are describedherein, will be understood to imply the inclusion of the statedcomponents, and therefore should be construed as including othercomponents, and not the exclusion of any other elements.

As customary in the field, some exemplary embodiments are described andillustrated in the accompanying drawings in terms of functional blocks,units, and/or modules. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthese blocks, units, and/or modules are physically implemented byelectronic (or optical) circuits, such as logic circuits, discretecomponents, microprocessors, hard-wired circuits, memory elements,wiring connections, and the like, which may be formed usingsemiconductor-based fabrication techniques or other manufacturingtechnologies. In the case of the blocks, units, and/or modules beingimplemented by microprocessors or other similar hardware, they may beprogrammed and controlled using software (e.g., microcode) to performvarious functions discussed herein and may optionally be driven byfirmware and/or software. It is also contemplated that each block, unit,and/or module may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or as acombination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions and aprocessor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associatedcircuitry) to perform other functions. Also, each block, unit, and/ormodule of some exemplary embodiments may be physically separated intotwo or more interacting and discrete blocks, units, and/or moduleswithout departing from the scope of the inventive concepts. Further, theblocks, units, and/or modules of some exemplary embodiments may bephysically combined into more complex blocks, units, and/or moduleswithout departing from the scope of the inventive concepts.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of a parking assistance apparatus andmethod according to the present invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

The thicknesses of the lines or the sizes of the elements illustrated inthe drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and for convenience.Furthermore, the terms used herein are defined in consideration offunctions of the present invention, but may be differently definedaccording to the customary practice or the intention of a user oroperator. Thus, the definition of such terms should be determined basedon the overall content of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a parkingassistance apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the parking assistance apparatus according tothe present embodiment includes a sensor unit 110, a control unit 120,an output unit 130, and a storage unit 140.

The sensor unit 110 may basically include a camera sensor and mayfurther include a radar sensor. However, the radar sensor is notnecessarily included.

Here, a plurality of camera sensors may be provided. For example, one ormore camera sensors may be installed at a front part, two side parts,rear part, and upper part of a vehicle. Accordingly, fixed objects maybe detected in a 360-degree direction with respect to the vehicle.

The control unit 120 performs space recognition and object recognition(e.g., a fixed object or a mobile object) by analyzing an image obtainedthrough the camera sensor of the sensor unit 110, calculates a parkingregion based on the recognized space and object information, andgenerates a path (or trajectory) to an available parking space.

The control unit 120 may refer to a detailed parking lot map HD-Mapstored in the storage unit 140 to recognize the space and object. Thatis, the control unit 120 recognizes a space and object in a parking lotby matching the detailed parking lot map to the object in the analyzedimage. Furthermore, the control unit 120 may also determine a locationof a host vehicle by matching the detailed parking lot map and theobject in the image to each other.

Here, the detailed parking lot map includes at least one of a specificshape and size information about a fixed object, information about alocation (or bearing) in which the fixed object is installed in aparking lot, a floor area of the parking lot, a location and area of aregular parking space, and information about a road length and area inthe parking lot.

Furthermore, although not specifically illustrated in FIG. 1, thecontrol unit 120 may calculate a current location of a vehicle bycommunicating (e.g., V2X, V2I, V2V) with an information providing device(not shown) in a parking lot via a communication unit (not shown) (e.g.,a communication unit included in a vehicle, or a communication unitprovided in a mobile terminal (e.g., smartphone) interworking with avehicle). When the parking lot is located outdoor where GPS signal maybe received, the control unit 120 may also use GPS signal to calculatecurrent location of a vehicle.

Even if the above-described communication is not available, the controlunit 120 may detect an orientation of a vehicle and the current locationof the vehicle based on the fixed object information detected in a360-degree direction through the plurality of camera sensors.

Therefore, the control unit 120 may recognize a space and object (e.g.,a fixed object) in a parking lot using the image captured through thecamera sensor, the detailed parking lot map, and current locationinformation about a vehicle.

Furthermore, when the object is a mobile object (e.g., moving object,pedestrian, vehicle, motorcycle, and the like in a parking lot), thecontrol unit 120 may calculate a distance from the vehicle to the mobileobject and a shape and size of the mobile object by referring toinformation about a fixed object (e.g., parking line, rubber bump,signpost, guide line, pillar, and the like) near the mobile object fromthe current location of the vehicle.

Here, in the present embodiment, when calculating the size of the mobileobject (particularly a vehicle parked earlier), the control unit 120detects not only an edge (or corner) but also a tire alignment state(e.g., when tires are not aligned in a straight line, a portion of atire protrudes out of a body of a vehicle) and a folded/unfolded stateof a side-view mirror to reflect the same in calculating the size.

The storage unit 140 may further store shape and size informationcorresponding to the type of a mobile object in addition to the detailedparking lot map. Therefore, when calculating the size of a mobileobject, the control unit 120 may refer to the shape and size informationaccording to the type of a mobile object stored in the storage unit 140.

Furthermore, the control unit 120 analyzes image information capturedthrough the camera sensor to search for a regular parking space (i.e.,space with parking lines) and search for a non-regular parking space(i.e., space without parking lines and large enough to park a vehicle).Here, the control unit 120 may refer to the detailed parking lot mapHD-Map to calculate a shape and area of the non-regular parking space.

Furthermore, the control unit 120 may communicate (e.g., V2X, V2I, V2V)with an information providing device (not shown) in a parking lot tosearch for a regular parking space and a non-regular parking space, andmay move a vehicle based on the statistical information about a vehiclenon-concentration region to quickly search for an empty parking space(i.e., available parking space).

To this end, the control unit 120 may generate and display a path (ortrajectory) to a vehicle non-concentration region until an empty vehiclespace (i.e., available parking space) is located, or may control asteering operation until reaching a vehicle non-concentration regionwhen autonomous driving is on.

Furthermore, when parking in a non-regular parking space due to failureto discover an empty regular parking space (i.e., available parkingspace), the control unit 120 may check a neutral (N) gear stage, and maycheck whether a vehicle is in a straightly aligned state to avoidcollision with a parked vehicle or an object when moving the vehicle.Furthermore, the control unit 120 may notify a check result to a userwhen simply assisting a driver in parking a vehicle, and may controlsteering when in autonomous parking mode.

The control unit 130 outputs a parking path (trajectory) when simplyassisting a driver in parking a vehicle according to control by thecontrol unit 120, outputs an alarm related to the check result so as toprevent collision or inconvenience that may occur when parking a vehiclein the non-regular parking space, and controls operation of a steeringdevice (not shown) and acceleration/deceleration device (not shown) whenperforming autonomous parking.

Hereinafter, operation of the control unit 120 will be described in moredetail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a parking assistance method accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, when a vehicle enters a parking lot (S101),the control unit 120 recognizes a space and object (fixed object, mobileobject) in the parking lot by analyzing an image captured through atleast one camera sensor installed in the vehicle (S102).

Here, the control unit 120 uses the detailed parking lot map HD-Map.

Here, the detailed parking lot map includes at least one of specificshape and size information about a fixed object, information about alocation (or bearing) in which the fixed object is installed in aparking lot, a floor area of the parking lot, a location and area of aregular parking space, and information about a road length and area inthe parking lot.

Furthermore, the control unit 120 searches for a regular parking spacewithout an obstacle (e.g., a vehicle parked earlier) through the imageanalysis (S103).

As a result of the search (S103), when a regular parking space ispresent (YES in S104), it generates and displays a parking path (ortrajectory) to the regular parking space, or a parking control (e.g.,steering control, acceleration/deceleration control) is performed untilreaching the regular parking space through autonomous driving (S109).

However, when the search result (S103) does not show a regular parkingspace (NO in S104), the control unit 120 allows the vehicle to move to avehicle non-concentration region, or performs a movement control (e.g.,steering control, acceleration/deceleration control) until reaching thevehicle non-concentration region through autonomous driving (S105).

Furthermore, the control unit 120 searches for a non-regular parkingspace nearby (S106) and, when found the non-regular parking space,determines whether the vehicle is able to park by accurately calculatinga space available for parking in the non-regular parking space byreflecting the shape and size of the vehicle (S107).

For example, the control unit 120 refers to the detailed parking lot mapHD-Map to calculate the shape and area of the non-regular parking space,and, at this time, the control unit 120 detects not only an edge (orcorner) of an object (e.g., a vehicle parked earlier) present at oneside of the non-regular parking space but also a tire alignment state(e.g., when tires are not aligned in a straight line, a portion of atire protrudes out of a body of a vehicle) and a folded/unfolded stateof a side-view mirror to calculate the size (or area) of the non-regularparking space.

Here, the vehicle does not necessarily move to the vehiclenon-concentration region (S105), and thus it may be moved optionallyaccording to situations.

When it is determined that the vehicle is able to park in thenon-regular parking space through the accurate calculation of a spaceavailable for parking as described above, the control unit 120 checkswhether the vehicle obstructs a path of another vehicle (e.g., a vehicleparked earlier or a moving vehicle) if the vehicle is parked in thenon-regular parking space that was determined to be available forparking (S108).

That is, when the vehicle is able to be parked in the non-regularparking space, but obstructs the path of another vehicle when parked inthe non-regular parking space (YES in S108), the control unit 120repeatedly performs operations S105 to S108 (i.e., determining whetherparking is possible by searching for a non-regular parking space aftermoving to another vehicle non-concentration region).

However, when the vehicle does not obstruct the path of the othervehicle even if the vehicle is parked in the non-regular parking space(NO in S108), the control unit 120 generates and displays a parking path(or trajectory) to the regular parking space to assist a driver inparking the vehicle, or performs a parking control (e.g., steeringcontrol, acceleration/deceleration control) until reaching thenon-regular parking space for autonomous parking (S109).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an additional parking assistanceoperation when parking a vehicle in a non-regular parking space asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 2.

As described in FIG. 3, when found that the vehicle is able to be parkedin the non-regular parking space through the accurate calculation of aspace available for parking (YES in S201), the control unit 120 checks aneutral (N) gear stage and outputs an alarm (S202).

Furthermore, the control unit 120 outputs an alarm after checkingwhether the vehicle is parked at an angle (i.e., a straightly alignedstate or a parallel aligned state) at which the vehicle does not collidewith another vehicle or object present in a forward direction ofmovement of the vehicle when the vehicle parked in the non-regularparking space is pushed and moved so as to allow the other vehicle toexit or move, thereby preventing the vehicle from colliding with theother vehicle or object (S203).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when a vehicle is parkedin the non-regular parking space, an alarm related to a result ofchecking a neutral gear state and a parking angle is output to assist adriver in parking the vehicle so as to prevent a collision accident orinconvenience that a driver of another vehicle may experience. Whenperforming autonomous parking, operation of a steering device (notshown) and acceleration/deceleration device (not shown) is controlled toautomatically control the neutral gear state and the parking angle.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a non-regularparking space is automatically searched for when a regular parking spaceis not available in a parking lot so as to assist with parking in thenon-regular parking space, and, furthermore, a camera sensor is used torecognize an available parking space and generate a parking trajectory(path), thus reducing a load of a parking assistance system and themanufacturing cost of a vehicle.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to theexemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, it should beunderstood that other various modifications and equivalent embodimentscould be made by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the technicalprotection scope of the present invention should be determined by thefollowing claims. Furthermore, the exemplary embodiments describedherein may be implemented as, for example, methods, processes, devices,software programs, data streams, or signals. Even though a single typeof implementation (e.g., a method) is described, described features maybe implemented in other forms (e.g., a device or program). A device maybe implemented as appropriate hardware, software, firmware, and thelike. A device may be implemented on a device such as a processor or thelike which generally refers to a processing device including a computer,a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, a programmable logic device, orthe like. A processor includes a communication device such as acomputer, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the likefor facilitating information communication between end users.

What is claimed is:
 1. A parking assistance apparatus, comprising: acamera sensor installed in a vehicle; a control unit configured toanalyze an image obtained through the camera sensor to recognize a spaceand an object in a parking lot by matching a detailed parking lot map tothe object, search for an available parking space by calculating aparking region on the basis of recognized space and object information,and generate a path to the available parking space searched for, orperform autonomous parking until reaching the available parking space;and a storage unit configured to store the detailed parking lot map forrecognizing the space and object.
 2. The parking assistance apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the camera sensor is installed at least one of a frontpart, two side parts, rear part, and upper part of the vehicle.
 3. Theparking assistance apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detailed parkinglot map comprises at least one of specific shape and size informationabout a fixed object installed in the parking lot, information about alocation or bearing in which the fixed object is installed in theparking lot, a floor area of the parking lot, a location and area of aregular parking space, and information about a road length and area inthe parking lot.
 4. The parking assistance apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe control unit detects an orientation of the vehicle and a currentlocation of the vehicle in the parking lot on the basis of fixed objectinformation detected through the camera sensor.
 5. The parkingassistance apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates orestimates a distance from the vehicle to a mobile object and a size ofthe mobile object on the basis of size information and distanceinformation about a fixed object near the mobile object from a currentlocation of the vehicle.
 6. The parking assistance apparatus of claim 1,wherein the control unit calculates a shape and area of a parking spaceby referring to the detailed parking lot map to calculate the availableparking space, wherein the control unit reflects not only an edge ofanother vehicle parked at one side of a parking space but also a tirealignment state and a folded/unfolded state of a side-view mirror. 7.The parking assistance apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when searching forthe available parking space, the control unit searches for a regularparking space that is a parking space with parking lines, and, whenthere is no available regular parking space, searches for a non-regularparking space that is a space without parking lines and large enough topark the vehicle.
 8. The parking assistance apparatus of claim 7,wherein the control unit is capable of communicating with an informationproviding device in the parking lot to search for the regular parkingspace and the non-regular parking space, and searches for the availableempty parking space by moving the vehicle on the basis of statisticalinformation about a vehicle non-concentration region.
 9. The parkingassistance apparatus of claim 7, wherein the control unit outputs analarm after checking a neutral gear stage when parking the vehicle inthe non-regular parking space, and outputs the alarm after checkingwhether the vehicle is parked at an angle at which the vehicle does notcollide with another vehicle or object present in a forward direction ofmovement of the vehicle when the vehicle parked in the non-regularparking space is pushed and moved so as to prevent the vehicle fromcolliding with the other vehicle or object.
 10. The parking assistanceapparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit generates and outputs aparking path to the available parking space when simply assisting adriver in parking the vehicle, and controls operation of a steeringdevice and acceleration/deceleration device when performing autonomousparking.
 11. A method for parking assistance, comprising steps of:analyzing, by a control unit, an image captured through at least onecamera sensor installed in a vehicle to recognize a space and an objectin a parking lot by matching a detailed parking lot map to the object;searching for, by the control unit, a regular parking space by analyzingthe image; searching for, by the control unit, a non-regular parkingspace near the vehicle when the regular parking space is not discoveredas a result of the searching for the regular parking space; determining,by the control unit, whether the vehicle is able to be parked byaccurately calculating an available parking space in the non-regularparking space by reflecting a shape and size of the vehicle when thenon-regular parking space is discovered; and generating and outputting,by the control unit, a parking path to the available parking space toassist a driver in parking the vehicle or controlling operation of asteering device and acceleration/deceleration device to performautonomous parking when the vehicle is able to be parked in thenon-regular parking space.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising steps of: generating and displaying, by the control unit, theparking path to the regular parking space or performing a parkingcontrol until reaching the regular parking space through autonomousdriving when the regular parking space is discovered.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising steps of: inducing, by the control unit,the driver to move the vehicle to a vehicle non-concentration region orperforming a movement control until reaching the vehiclenon-concentration region through autonomous driving when the regularparking space is not discovered.
 14. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising steps of: checking, by the control unit, whether the vehicleobstructs a path of another vehicle when the vehicle is parked in thenon-regular parking space and re-searching for the non-regular parkingspace if the vehicle obstructs the path of the other vehicle, when thenon-regular parking space is determined to be available for parking. 15.The method of claim 11, wherein the detailed parking lot map comprises:at least one of specific shape and size information about a fixed objectinstalled in the parking lot; information about a location or bearing inwhich the fixed object is installed in the parking lot, a floor area ofthe parking lot, a location and area of the regular parking space; andinformation about a road length and area in the parking lot.
 16. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the control unit detects an orientation ofthe vehicle and a current location of the vehicle in the parking lot onthe basis of fixed object information detected through the camera sensorto recognize the space and object in the parking lot.
 17. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the control unit calculates a shape and area of aparking space by referring to the detailed parking lot map to calculatethe available parking space, wherein the control unit reflects not onlyan edge of another vehicle parked at one side of a parking space butalso a tire alignment state and a folded/unfolded state of a side-viewmirror.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the control unit is capableof communicating with an information providing device in the parking lotto search for the regular parking space or the non-regular parkingspace, and searches for the available parking space that is an emptyparking space by moving the vehicle on the basis of statisticalinformation about a vehicle non-concentration region.
 19. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the control unit outputs an alarm after checking aneutral gear stage when parking the vehicle in the non-regular parkingspace, and outputs the alarm after checking whether the vehicle isparked at an angle at which the vehicle does not collide with anothervehicle or object present in a forward direction of movement of thevehicle.
 20. A vehicle, comprising: a camera sensor installed in avehicle; a control unit; an output unit; and a storage unit, wherein thecontrol unit is configured to: analyze an image obtained through thecamera sensor to recognize a space and an object in a parking lot bymatching a detailed parking lot map to the object; search for anavailable parking space by calculating a parking region on the basis ofrecognized space and object information; and generate a path to theavailable parking space searched for, or perform autonomous parkinguntil reaching the available parking space, and wherein the storage unitis configured to: store the detailed parking lot map for recognizing thespace and object.